Doug Morris era ends at SLV: Winningest coach in SCCAL football history retires

San Lorenzo Valley High's Doug Morris — one of the most successful football coaches in Central Coast Section history — announced his retirement minutes after his 25th season ended Nov. 2.

Morris, who decided a year ago this would be his final go-round, informed his team on the bus ride home from Aptos following a season-ending 59-20 defeat to the league-champion Mariners.

“I just kind of feel like it's time,” said Morris, 53. “I've done this a long, long time. It's been a huge part of my life and I've thoroughly enjoyed it. But I want to spend time with my family beyond football before I'm completely and utterly burnt out.”

Morris and his wife of 23 years, Sandi, have three children: Katie, 20; Cole, 18; and Anna, 14.

The coach said he informed SLV officials of his decision at the outset of the season. He plans to remain at the school and continue to teach English.

The school will begin its search to replace the winningest coach in Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League history in the coming weeks, said athletic director Mark Mercer, who played for and later coached alongside Morris.

Morris' retirement announcement wasn't a complete shock to his players, not after a surprise tribute to Morris on Oct. 27.

More than 100 of Morris' former players showed up wearing their high school jerseys during the Cougars' final home game of the regular season. They formed two lines leading to the field to cheer Morris and this year's team as they ran onto the field.

“He's normally stoic on the field, but I saw it in his eyes; he was shocked and humbled,” Mercer said.

After that game and a week later in the season finale, Morris avoided addressing his retirement with the media so his players could hear the news from him first.

UNPARALLELED SUCCESS

Morris, who replaced Earl Hansen as head coach in 1988, finishes with a 189-82-9 record (.691 winning percentage), with 13 league championships and 16 postseason appearances, including three Central Coast Section titles (1999, '00, '02).

His 1991 team went 9-1 overall and finished in a three-way tie for first in league, but pulled the short straw to advance to CCS.

“He's as fine as they get,” Hansen said. “He knows people really well, he knows how to motivate really well and he's a Pied Piper.”

The Cougars posted a league-record, 46-game unbeaten streak that spanned from 1995-03. Along the way, they won seven straight SCCAL crowns (1996-02) and struck fear into opponents. The 2002 team finished 13-0.

“We always joked they had something in their water,” said Kyle Vanderzanden, a quarterback at rival Aptos in 2002. “Everyone on their team was tough. A lot of them were the best athletes in the county. They hit the weight room hard. They were always bigger than any other team and seemed to put out Division-I athletes year after year.”

Something special in the water? No, the Cougars had someone special in their ear, driving them to push harder with encouraging words.

“Growing up, I heard about the legend,” said former Cougar Nick Johnson, now a practice-squad receiver with the St. Louis Rams. “Coach Morris this and that. It was amazing to see. He was so intense, but in a positive way. He rarely ever cussed. And as an English teacher, he pulled out some extensive vocab on the football field. You can't help but get hyped when he's talking.”

Morris surpassed former Soquel coach Dewey Tompkins in career wins with a 37-0 shutout of Santa Cruz on Oct. 5. Tompkins posted 187 in his 32-year career with the Knights.

Morris steps away sitting 10th on the CCS' all-time wins list.

His teams reached CCS title games six times, including four straight seasons (1999-02).

The Cougars delivered Santa Cruz County its first football champion in 1999, beating private school Valley Christian of San Jose. A year later they repeated as champion by topping San Francisco private school Riordan. After suffering a 42-0 loss to Los Gatos in the '01 D-III title game, SLV returned to D-IV and pounded Burlingame 42-0.

“He's basically a legend,” said former Cougar Waylon Prather, a tight end and punter on the '02 team. Prather shined at San Jose State and earned an NFL tryout. “Growing up and going to games, you just one day wished you could play varsity and play for coach Morris.”

‘NOT ALL ABOUT ME'

Morris, who listened to Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 in his classroom before giving his team inspired pre-game speeches, was the director of his orchestra.

He oversaw all his assistants and position coaches. A former linebackers coach and defensive coordinator before taking over as head coach, Morris was a master in delegation and motivation.

His expertise, according to dozens of players and coaches, was lighting a fire under everyone.

“You could see the intensity in his eyes,” Hansen said. “He's ready to go right now.”

Morris' passion stretched far beyond Xs and Os. He cared for the kids like they were his own.

“He was a father to a lot of kids,” said Jeff Gilbert, a former Cougars quarterback who had several NFL tryouts. He now serves as a team manager for the Oakland Raiders. “He did a lot for my confidence, made me believe I could do a lot of things I didn't think I could do.”

Morris wasn't just giving coach-speak. He really believed in every single player and coach on his staff.

“If I did anything right over 25 years, I allowed some really good football coaches to have freedom to do what they do best and I stayed out of their way,” Morris said, “guys like (defensive coordinator Dave) Poetzinger, (former offensive coordinator Dave) Mercer ... it's a long list. And any kid, I'll say the same thing. It's not all about me. I had great dedicated men around me.”

Morris turned out hundreds of college players, a handful of whom went on to reach the NFL, and inspired a steady flow of alumni to get into coaching football.

Nick Noce, a quarterback on two of SLV's CCS title-winning teams, and quarterback Mike Volarvich are among the Cougar alums now coaching. They helped guide one of the nation's top NCAA Division II offenses at powerful Henderson State in Arkansas.

“As you get into coaching, you start to realize, analyzing how you want to run a program,” said Noce, a graduate assistant. “It's then you see how much of an impact and influence he had on his kids.

“You grow up waiting for your time and when it happens, you think ‘This is great.' You're part of history, part of tradition.”

WRAPPED IN TRADITION

Each season, Morris grew a beard beginning on the first day of practice and he left it untouched for months, until the team played its final game. His beard became legendary, as did his fiery speeches and numerous other traditions.

Another rite of passage was Morris' pregame speeches and poetry recitals, conducted in the dark in “The House,” otherwise known as the team's wrestling room.

“It's almost like the Sistine Chapel to us,” Noce said. “If you're a junior, that's when you really start to understand coach Morris and what he represents. It really is a movie scene, because of the light, the silhouette of Morris and his beard.”

Morris and his team entered the battlefield in two rows, walking hand-in-hand. Prior to games, they stopped by a pair of monuments near the field, touching a Cougar statue on one end of the end zone and paying tribute to a fallen Cougar, David Maze, at his memorial on the other end. Maze and two others were killed as passengers in an alcohol-related car crash in 1997.

After Maze's passing, Morris created another tradition. He had his players sign a no-tolerance policy for alcohol. It was sealed with a handshake.

“Your word is your handshake,” said former quarterback Harlan Prather, a quarterback in 2004-05. “And Morris always says, ‘All we have is our word.' If we don't keep that, what are we? You have to be a man some time.”

Moreover, Maze's No. 21 jersey was essentially retired. The final home game of each season a senior on the team, who best exemplifies Maze's relentless spirit and team-first attitude, is bestowed the jersey for the afternoon. Maze's mother, Laurie, helps the honoree put the jersey on.

After the final game of each season, departing seniors “will” their jersey to an incoming varsity player.

There are many SLV traditions — opponents know well that the Cougars take the field to AC/DC's “Hells Bells” — but the one Morris is most proud of is the team goals. He has taught them in his English class and made them part of his graduation speeches.

Prior to kickoff, the team huddles around Morris and he calls out a number. The players respond in unison with the team's goals.

One. “No personal fouls.”

Two. “One hundred percent.”

Three. Team unity.”

Four. “Win one game.”

Five. “Finish the game.”

Though more than a hundred alumni showed up to see Morris on Oct. 27, he didn't announce his retirement after the game. Instead, he called out the numbers. And the former players responded as if they back on the team.

A week later, Noce was watching a YouTube highlight of the special moment along with a few of his Henderson State players. He too was rattling off the goals.

THE MORRIS EFFECT

Through all the titles, Morris points to last season as one of his favorites. The injury-plagued Cougars were beaten up early and stumbled to a 4-6 finish.

Record-wise, it was one of Morris' worst seasons. But the team never stopped showing heart, never stopped fighting, the coach said.

“It was one of my worst records since I became head coach,” Morris said. “But I had a great time. They kept fighting. And getting to coach Cole his senior year, that just made it different. But it puts things into perspective, you know? When it comes down to it, wins and losses — it doesn't matter. It's just an experience.”

Morris wasn't always about the outcome. He was about the process, doing things right and giving it your all.

When his teams had the game in control, he substituted heavily. Though his teams were capable of putting up 100 points in some games, they rarely exceeded 50. He made it a point to not embarrass the opponent.

His sportsmanship is best illustrated in a 2007 game against St. Francis. With SLV leading 49-0 late and seeking its first shutout of the season, a second-year Sharks program — winless and shut out three times already — embarked on a lengthy, defies-all-odds scoring drive.

The Sharks scored in the game's waning seconds only to be called for an offensive penalty, nullifying the touchdown on a third-and-long play. Morris quickly declined the penalty, letting Sharks celebrate with a season-ending score.

“Doug Morris is one of the top five coaches in Northern California in classiness and character, and it shows in his record and the types of kids who come out of his program,” said then-Sharks coach Joe Gregorio, who now coaches at Pajaro Valley. “If there's one program I'm going to try and model my program after, it's his.”

Gregorio wasn't alone. Several county schools modeled their programs after SLV.

A small, public school located in the Santa Cruz mountains, SLV never backed down from a challenge.

Morris was pro-active in picking his fights. He scheduled larger, heralded programs each preseason to better prepare the team for league play and, he hoped, the playoffs.

The strategy worked.

“They'd play anybody,” Soquel coach Ron Myers said. “They gave the whole county a different attitude.”

Said Louie Walters, a longtime assistant under Morris who started Scotts Valley's program a little more than a decade ago: “That's my mentor. Everything I've done at Scotts Valley is because of Doug.”

When every local team was using run-based offenses, Morris' squads, under coordinator Dave Mercer, popularized passing to create a balanced attack.

Over the years, more and more Morris alums surfaced throughout the county as head coaches and offensive coordinators.

Schools like Scotts Valley, Harbor, Watsonville and Monte Vista Christian all added an increased aerial dimension to their offenses.

They took little traditions, too. For years, SLV's players have returned to their sideline following each game, taken a knee, and thanked their fans for attending. Now, it's commonplace throughout the county.

WHAT NOW?

Though he'll continue teaching, Morris is hoping he and his wife can travel to Europe soon.

He'll have plenty of free time during the summer. No more early morning workout supervision, passing leagues or double days.

“It's almost impossible to tell how much I'll miss it,” Morris said. “I love the competition, feeling nervous and sick. It's a way you know you're alive. And that's enough — win or lose. That feeling, it's a high.”

Morris said he's excited to begin the next chapter of his career. He also vows to be SLV's No. 1 fan, stopping by practice and attending games. He also wants to give the new coach his space.

“I'll miss kidding around with those boys at practice,” Morris said. “You build special bonds with the kids, that's for sure, in ways you probably never get in the classroom as a teacher. It's how you get so gosh darn close-knit. That's why there are tears shed at the end of each season, from the players and coaches. The family is breaking up. It's that powerful bond that comes out of hard work and when you face fear together with people. That's a big one, because football is scary.”

Forgive Morris if it sounds like he wants to keep going. He's new to this retirement thing. He swears it's time to step away, but knows there will be a void that he's unfamiliar dealing with.

During those uneasy moments, Morris doesn't have to go far to see the hundreds he impacted on the field — they're right there in his backyard. In the back of his Felton home is a separate workshop where he and his assistant coaches hammered out scouting reports until the wee hours of the morning each Sunday. One wall is covered with 25 poster-sized prints of every team Morris coached.

“Looking at all those kids and all they've given over the course of the years,” he said, “that, for me, is all I need. I look at those boys and so many are men now. I can go out and look at 25 years of football. Kids who tried hard and fought and that's fulfilling enough.”